“Our past?” she prompts.
“Yeah,” I cough uneasily. “Basically. I thought it would be better. I mean, that’s what people who are exes do, right? They avoid each other. Clearly that didn’t happen.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip and chuckles, echoing my own words back to me, “Clearly.”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore, so I had to say it.”
Grace leans back against the couch, her fingers knotting themselves together as she sits there not saying anything. I mean, she could at least say something. Put me out of misery and whatnot. But she just keeps sitting there, staring off into space as she thinks. She always was a thinker.
“I didn’t mean to push you. It’s just getting too hard to keep it to myself and to hide it in front of everyone,” I shrug. “I can go if you want.”
“It’s not that.” She eyeballs me. “Did Killian talk to you?”
Well...shit. That’s not what I thought she was going to say. Maybe screw you or Alex, I like you too, but not bringing up Killian.
“He did,” Grace sighs. “I can see it written all over your face. He can’t keep a secret worth anything, can he? Jesus. You don’t have to come here and pity me and tell me you like me.”
“I didn’t come here to pity you.” I frown and narrow my eyes. “Stop trying to argue with me about how I feel.”
“I’m not arguing. I just said you didn’t have to pity me.”
“Why the hell would I pity you?”
“I don’t know!” Grace says and flops her arms in her lap. “Because I was the one who did the dumping? I don’t know. Shouldn’t you hate me? I feel like you should be hating me instead of sitting there telling me you like me.” She groans. “I swear I’m not trying to argue with you.”
“Then why are you?”
“I just told you!”
“Look, do you like me or not?” I huff. “Because I can take a hint and take off if the answer is no. But you’re not telling me and it’s driving me crazy.”
“Of course I like you, you dumbass.”
Words every guy wants to hear. I like you while simultaneously being called a dumbass.
“I just can’t figure out why you like me.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not like I never didn’t like you. You just drove me up a wall. What was I supposed to do? Profess my feelings to my ex-girlfriend and possibly have her laugh it off in my face?”
“So you waited until Killian spilled the beans?”
I shrug, not the least bit sorry. “I mean, at least I know. It made coming here a lot easier.”
“So now what?”
“I don’t know. I hadn’t gotten that far. I just decided to come here, like, twenty minutes ago, Grace. I wasn’t even sure if you were going to hear me out or not.”
Grace laughs, a fully belly laugh that has her doubling over in her seat next to me. “You seriously didn’t have a plan?”
“Of course I did,” I scoff. “My plan was to come here and tell you. I accomplished that.”
“You are the least romantic person I know,” Grace snorts. “No flowers, or chocolates, nothing that says Grace Hart I’d like to date you.”
“First off, you don’t even like chocolate, so nice try. And second of all, you think flowers smell weird. I got them for you once and you spent fifteen minutes complaining about it,” I point out. “Plus, it’s totally romantic. I’m romantic as shit, are you kidding me? I just came over here and professed myself to you.”
Grace continues to laugh until little tears start falling from her eyes. She pitches her voice low, trying to mock me, “I like you.”
“That’s romantic as shit.”
“No it’s not!”
“Fine,” I relent, because she’s so exhausting to argue with. “For me it was romantic.”
“Okay, I’ll accept that.” Grace wipes off the tears from her cheeks while grinning at me. “So now what?”
“I guess I should probably ask you out on a date.”
“You think?” she laughs again.
“So what do you want to do?”
“Oh, no, no, no. Back it up, you have to actually ask me first,” Grace tsks.
“Grace, would you like to go out on a date with me?” I sigh.
“Sure. If you’ll have more enthusiasm when we go out on our date than you did asking me out.”
“You’re being insufferable.”
“Is that any way to talk to your date?”
I glare at her.
Grace waves her hand in the air. “Fine, I’m sorry, I’ll quit teasing you, you big baby. Yes, I would love to go out on a date with you. Where should we go?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t taken a girl out in forever.” I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t watch movies much, so I don’t know what’s playing.”
“That’s fine. We could always go out ot eat instead.”
“Or bowling,” I offer.
Grace’s eyes light up. “I love bowling.”
I know she does. That’s part of the reason I brought it up. She might love bowling, but she absolutely sucks at it. It still makes her smile though, so I always try and let her win. Even if she throws more gutter balls than anything.
She bites her lower lip, fluttering her eyes at me while she lets go of a tiny smile. “This is going to be fun.”
“So should we get going?” I ask.
“Going where?”
“Bowling.” Duh.
“It’s the middle of the week, Alex!” she laughs. “Plus, I’m studying for a test that I have coming up. How about this weekend instead?”
Two whole days away? I guess I can wait that long. “Sure. Sounds good to me.”
“Are you going to tell anyone?”
“Do you want me to tell anyone?”
She mulls that over. “I guess I can tell Lila, she’s going to find out anyways. And Killian basically already knows. But what about your harem of girls?”
I blink at her. “What harem of girls?”
“Uh, the ones constantly throwing themselves at you.”
I’m still not following. “What girls do that?”
“The other day at the coffee shop! They did it then!”
“They were just being nice.”
Grace rolls her eyes. And yeah, okay, even that sounded lame to my ears. I knew what those girls were doing, what they really wanted. And I let them climb under Grace’s skin without actually knowing it was going to crawl under her skin.
That brings up another thing. “Did you really buy that coffee for me?”
Grace hesitates before sighing. “Yes, I did. But you were too busy ogling them so I gave it to Ian.”
“Ian doesn’t drink coffee.”
Grace tosses her hands in the air. “I didn’t know that, okay? Trust me, everyone made sure to tell me that it was obvious that I liked you since literally everyone apparently knows Ian doesn’t drink coffee. Except me.”
“It’s kind of cute,” I grin. “When you get flustered. You totally have a crush on me.”
That earns me another eye roll. “What are we, five?”
“I’m just saying, you have the hots for me.”
“Shut up,” she laughs. “I need to study.”
“Need a study buddy?” I ask.
“You don’t have any of your work with you,” Grace points out. She wrinkles her little button nose. “Did you come from the gym?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Did you even shower before you came over here?”
“That would be a no,” I shrug and take a whiff of my armpit. “Why, do I reek?”
“You really were determined to come over here and ask me out, weren’t you?” Grace hums softly.
“Killian was riding my ass about manning up. And then you know, jabbering on about not technically making a promise to you, but if he didn’t actually say anything does it really count as a promise. It was hurting my head. He finally just told me and I practically ran out of the gym
over here.”
“That’s kind of sweet.”
“I told you I was romantic as shit. You didn’t believe me. Ha!”
“Whatever.” She gives me a little smile. “So the girls?”
Shit. I’d forgotten we’d been talking about them. “I’ll tell them I’m seeing someone. Obviously I don’t want them. And I don’t know why everyone thinks I sleep around. I haven’t done that at all this year.”
“So your reputation isn’t all true, then?”
I shrug. “Some of it is, sure. Not all of it. I can’t make people tell the truth about me if they’re going to lie about something I’ve done or said. I try and focus on the fact that the people who know me, who actually give a shit about me, know I’m nothing like that.”
“That’s true,” she nods her head thoughtfully. “It’s a little weird, though. Knowing you haven’t dated because of me.” She looks down at her lap and I reach over to grab her hand in mine.
“You were partially it, I guess. But eventually it just became who I was. I didn’t have to deal with drama, I could focus on my schoolwork. It’s not like I wouldn’t have had time for a girlfriend, but everyone just wanted to screw. No one wanted to date me, just the quarterback. And it’s exhausting trying to find someone actually interested in you for you.”
“But I’m interested in you for you,” she points out.
I laugh. “That’s because you were around before football took over. You know who I am when I’m without it. These people could care less.”
“I guess that makes me kind of special,” Grace muses. “Knowing who you are on the inside and not just the guy on the field.”
“And thank God for that,” I agree.
Chapter Nineteen
Grace
I peek over the top of my laptop, trying to be inconspicuous as I can get.
“What?” Alex asks, not even bothering to look up from where he’s reading his textbook across from me. “You keep looking at me and it’s starting to creep me out, Grace.”
“Oh, sorry.” So much for being inconspicuous. I angle my head back down and try and ignore him.
We’re sitting in the library, up on the second floor in a glass study room. People walk by, pause, stare, before being ushered on. Or until I look up and narrow my eyes at them.
Yes, I can see you staring.
No, your eyes aren’t betraying you.
Yes, Alex Hunter is sitting in the library with a girl.
It all gets conveyed in a manner of eyebrow raises and narrowing eyes. The girls usually leave in a huff and the guys carry on without noticing. It’s different than it was in high school. He was popular then, too, but not on this level.
“Why do you keep looking out the window?” Alex asks.
“Huh?” I look over at him. “People keep looking.”
“They do that.”
“Well, make them not do it and maybe I’d be able to focus on studying.”
He leans back in his chair, eyes never wavering from mine as he looks me up and down. “Do you want to go study in the back rooms where no one can see in?”
I deflate in my seat. I don’t, not really. It’s not just the people walking by that are distracting me, but it’s him. He looks so cute when he’s studying with his furrowed brow. I just want to reach across the table and kiss him senseless.
“Earth to Grace?”
“I think I’m all studied-out to be honest,” I lie. “Maybe we can grab a snack, I’m starting to get hungry.”
Alex glances back down at his textbook. “Sure. I’m at a pretty good stopping point.” He looks back up at me after shutting his book. “What are you in the mood for? Maybe the little bakery downstairs?”
“Yeah, that sounds pretty good to me,” I smile.
It takes us five minutes to collect our things and head downstairs. We’re waiting in line, silently staring up at the large menu board behind the counter when I feel Alex slip his fingers around mine. His hand is far too large to curl our fingers up together, so he simply takes two fingers and holds on to them.
It’s childish looking, really. Completely ridiculous and yet absolutely adorable.
I love it.
We take our time loitering in line, bumping into each other on purpose as we shuffle forward. I glance up at him at the same time he looks down at me, giving me a small wink before moving forward and tugging me along.
“I’ll have a blueberry muffin,” I tell the girl behind the register.
“A ham and cheese croissant with a large Mocha Latte,” Alex rumbles his order.
I arch an eyebrow at him.
“What?”
“Nothing,” I shrug. “You just basically ordered a whole meal and it’s two hours before the Union opens up for dinner.”
“I’m a growing boy,” Alex grins, patting his stomach with his free hand. “You can’t not feed a growing boy.”
“Of course not.”
“So, are you ready for bowling tomorrow?” Alex asks.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” I ask. “Your game might wipe you out.”
“I’ll be fine. I invited Lila and Killian to come along, too. That way if I get tired at least you can kick Lila’s ass at bowling.”
“That does sound good.”
Our names get called from underneath the Pick-Up sign. We grab our snacks and hide out at a table against the wall with only two seats. Call me a little territorial, but I like the fact that no one can just come up and sit with us. It’s a private little table for two only.
However, that doesn’t stop a group of girls heading straight for us.
The highlight is that Alex doesn’t even notice, he’s too busy either staring at me or devouring his ham and cheese croissant.
“Hey,” a girl props her hip up against the table, showing me her back as she focuses on Alex.
“Hi,” he answers politely. I can see it in his eyes, though. The little piece of him trying to not say Leave me the hell alone.
“So, what are you doing?” she blabbers on.
“I’m on a date,” he points at me. “This is Grace.”
I can’t see the girls face, but from the taken-aback looks on her friends faces, that definitely was not what they were expecting him to say. I almost laugh at them, but I’m a better person than that. Mostly.
“We didn’t know you went out on dates, you never ask,” the girl says.
“I asked her,” Alex leans back in his chair. “Because I like her.”
My mouth opens and closes, because now I’m the one knocked utterly speechless. I hadn’t expected him to admit to that out loud, at least not yet or anytime soon.
“Oh,” the girl bobs her head. “See you around.”
Alex stuffs the rest of his croissant sandwich in his mouth and offers a little wave.
“I knew that was going to happen,” I say smuggly.
“What are you talking about?” Alex asks after he swallows.
“That your football bimbos were going to come bother us because they didn’t know we decided to date.”
“They know now.”
That’s true. They didn’t look pleased, but none of them could seem to come up with a reason to stick around after he pointed out that he had asked me out. Like I had something more valuable to offer than those girls who only cared about one thing anyways.
“Are you alright?” Alex asks.
“Yeah,” I nod. “It’s just weird.”
“How? We’ve dated before.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t,” I gesture towards him, “you know.”
“A football God?” he teases. “Handsome? Charming?”
“Clearly not worried about your ego,” I hum along with him.
“Harsh.”
I shrug, then laugh. “You know what I mean. You were good in high school, people liked you, but this is something more. Something different. Most normal people don’t have groups of girls that come up to proposition them.”
Alex gives me a charming
smile. “I’m not normal.”
Like I didn’t know that. I roll my eyes. “It’ll take some getting used to is all.”
“I mean you could do what Lila does,” he says with a sparkle in his eyes. “She just pretty much tells them all to take a hike or to get over themselves, he has a girlfriend he loves. Blah, blah, blah. It works like a charm.”
I try to imagine Lila making a scene over Killian and his harem of girls that undoubtedly are waiting for him to go back to the person he was before he fell in love. “I can see that. She’s like a little puppy dog that suddenly goes crazy when she gets ticked off at people.”
“Does it go against some feminism thing if I say that I think it would be hot if you got all angry and told them off?”
I outright laugh at that. “You’re such a guy.”
“Can’t help it. It’s where my mind wanders to. For every one of me out there, there’s at least four decent guys who think just as bad. I just don’t filter myself.”
My cheek twitches with a smile. “Maybe you should try and filter yourself.”
“If I did that then we’d still be circling each other instead of on a date.”
He makes a valid point. “Oh, so is this a date?” I ask casually.
Alex rolls his eyes this time. “You are ridiculous. You know damn well this is a date. Like a baby date for our date tomorrow.”
“A baby date?”
“You know?” He gestures around the small bakery with his enormous hand. “Duh, we’re on a date. But since it’s not a real meal, it can’t be a date date. Therefore I’m coining this a baby date.”
“A baby date,” I echo again.
He tips his coffee at me. “Quit being a smartass.”
“I can’t help it. You bring it out in me.”
Alex laughs before he motions with his head towards the door. “Want to get out of here?”
“Sure,” I nod. “Where to?”
“I don’t know. Let’s just go on a walk,” he says.
Boy, Alex and I haven’t been on a walk in a long time. It used to be what we did at the end of the day. After our practices were over, but we still had too much adrenaline to just simply call it a day, we would go on long walks.
The Wrong Girl_Hanson University_Book Two Page 13
